


GHOST IN THE MACHINE

by SkipBack



Series: Zimvoid King AU [4]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Robotic, doggo - Freeform, idk how to tag right now but, just know that you might now like it, wow another cliffhanger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:42:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkipBack/pseuds/SkipBack
Summary: A new addition to the Membrane family! But this bro's arrival might not be so good.
Series: Zimvoid King AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748608
Comments: 9
Kudos: 26





	1. GHOST IN THE MACHINE - PART 1

**Author's Note:**

> _You can't scare me, Zib,_ Dib thought at Zib. _Not anymore._
> 
> Meanwhile, the author began to cackle. With an ominous tone in her voice, she said: "That's what you think."

Zib was up to something. 

Dib could tell. His alternate had been running around, back and forth to his room with suspicious white, teal and gray metal, wires and different technology nestled under his arm. Which was in itself suspicious. It was fairly obvious that the other Dib was building something... but what, Dib didn't know. Nor could he tell. As far as he knew, Zib's PAK had corrupted his mind again and now the other was creating a weapon in the seclusion of his room. 

Sure, there could be the possiblity that Zib wasn't trying to make a weapon. But Dib was leaning a little the other way. Just to be safe, of course. He couldn't let his guard down for a _second_ , in case his gut feeling was right. Which, of course, usually _was_ right and Dib usually had no reason to doubt it. 

Usually. Not to say there were a _few_ times it was wrong. 

There was a moment where Zib darted past Dib in the hallway to his room, though this time he wasn't carrying any materials that could suggest a weapon; in one hand, the other Dib carried a thick teal dog collar. 

This caught Dib off guard. He paused in the hallway, blinking owlishly. A _collar_? What did Zib need a _collar_ for? He couldn't rightly ask his alternate now; in the moment of shocked pause, Zib had already disappeared to his room. For how long, Dib had no idea. But he was bound to come back out at some point, right? 

Right. 

He could wait. Of course he could wait. 

... 

The problem was that he'd been gone for hours. 

Dib had tried to knock on Zib's door once, but had gotten no response but a plain and simple " _I'm busy!_ " 

Just what was he doing? Scraps of metal and machinery and a dog collar? Those items just didn't fit together. Did the collar serve a bigger purpose than Dib realized? Was Zib making a weapon and a mind controlling collar? It seemed to be the most logical reasoning Dib's mind had to offer, and Zib did have the know-how to build things Dib could only dream of. It was admittedly a terrifying ability, if Zib's intentions weren't the best for the sake of humanity. 

Eventually, when the sun was beginning to set, Dib decided it was high time he tried knocking again. 

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Dib wasn't expecting the door to fly open so quickly the way it did, and within seconds, he was staring into the pale greenish-gray face of his alternate. Zib's eyes lit up, a smile splitting his features. With the added scars and the serrated teeth, Dib couldn't help think he was looking into the face of a madman. 

"Dib!" Zib almost chirped. "What perfect timing! We were just going to get you! We've got something interesting to show you." 

Confusion settled in Dib's stomach, a little burst of panic flaring through his chest. "Wh—" Dib started. 

"It's better to show you than tell you," Zib said. He made space in the doorway, gesturing to the interior of his room with a dramatic flourish of one arm. "Come in, come in! We know you'd want to see this." 

_We._

That in itself was ultimately worrying. Was Zib working with someone? Was it Zim? No, no, that was stupid... he knew Zib was purposely trying to _avoid_ Zim. 

Heavily sighing through his nose, trying to loosen the panic squeezing his chest in an iron grip, Dib forced himself to walk into the lion's den that was Zib's room. 

It was a small little room that felt cramped in his current state of mind. Dib couldn't remember what it used to be, but Zib didn't seem to mind the size. Pale blue walls, a bed shoved off to the side and with a desk covered in little gizmos, blueprints and even a Rubrix Cube. Dib knew these objects were only to help Zib pass the time. They were nothing to worry about. 

What he was worried about was what Zib and his mysterious partner were up to. 

"Ey! Ghost!" 

Zib's voice tore Dib out of his thoughts, causing him to startle. "Ghost?" Dib echoed, and it caused him to frantically look around the room. 

A ghost! In the house? Where was it? 

Small footsteps caused Dib to look down, spying something walking around Zib's bed to stand in front of him. He furrowed his brow, pursing his lips. This wasn't what he was expecting. 

A small white and gray dog stared back up at him. It had no mouth, a not-quite-large-but-still-big triangular nose, and what appeared to be a teal ball attached to the end of its tail. The collar Dib had been pondering about was around the dog's neck, a large "G" on the diamond shaped tag. Counting the ears, Dib could already tell the dog only came up to the shoulders of Zim's robot. 

But the weirdest thing? 

The weirdest thing was that it only had one eye. 

It blinked up at Dib, then its lower eyelid raised. "Hello!" the robotic dog said, its voice suspiciously familiar. 

"It talks," Dib said, awed. 

The dog's eyelid lowered, its brow furrowed. "'Course I talk!" the dog half-shouted, clearly annoyed. "I might not have a mouth, but I speak pretty well, thank you very much!" 

"Okay! Jeez," Dib said, holding up his hands in surrender. Small dog, but a big personality. He was already sure he wasn't going to get along that well with Ghost. 

"Sorry, getting off on the wrong foot," the dog muttered, almost to itself. It spoke up again, clearly addressing Dib. "I'm Ghost! You must be Dib! I'd shake your hand, but as you can see, I don't have any!" It barked a laugh. 

Dib turned to Zib, who had an elated grin on his face. "This is what you were doing?" he asked his alternate. "Making a robot dog? Why? What else does it do?" 

"Oi!" Ghost said. 

"Ghost doesn't really do much," Zib said. 

"It's like I'm not even here!" the dog said. 

"I mean, he doesn't do what you think he does," Zib went on, almost as though he hadn't heard. "Ghost is not some weapon. He's just a dog, but better!" 

The more alien of the two moved towards Ghost. Zib picked him up, and held him out to Dib. "Oi! I'm not a doll!" Ghost snapped at Zib. A part of Dib was in awe of just how human Ghost sounded. How had his counterpart managed to make and program something like Ghost in just one day? 

"So... what does Ghost do, then?" Dib asked. 

"Ghost is the partner every aspiring paranormal investigator with a fur allergy needs," Zib said. "Or didn't realize they needed." 

"I also speak in a variety of different languages," Ghost said, shrugging. 

"Can you speak Irken?" Dib immediately questioned. 

"Oh, sure," Ghost replied. "I also speak Horse, Baby, Squeaky Moose and a bunch of other weird languages like that!" 

"Squeaky Moose is oddly specific," Dib said. 

"Squeaky toys don't all speak the same squeak, lad," Ghost said. 

"I... didn't know that." That was actually a mind-blowing discovery. 

"Ghost has also got a built in radio," Zib said, cradling the robotic dog in his arms. "It's supposed to be a two-way radio, but we're still trying to fix up a walkie-talkie we found to make it compatible with Ghost's radio. Our goal is to get that done by the end of this week. It might take us a while, but we're sure we can finish it so people can talk to him long-distance." 

"Why are you talking like that?" Dib demanded. 

Zib jerked, and he looked up at Dib with a disorientated look on his face, like someone had poured cold water on him while he was sleeping. "What?" 

" _Why_ are you talking like _that?_ " Dib repeated. "Are you working with someone?" 

"I..." Zib said. His jaw noticably tightened and his brow furrowed, like he was fighting back a headache. "No, no... I'm not working with anyone. No one else helped me make Ghost. This... this was just all me." 

"Well, it sure seemed like it, from the way you we're talkin', lad," Ghost said. 

Zib sighed, carefully setting the metal pooch on the floor. "Well, you both must be hearing things," he said. "I think I'd know if I spoke like that." The pained look on his face grew more obvious; Zib closed his eyes, holding a hand to his forehead. 

"...are you alright?" Dib said, moving to rest a hand on the other's shoulder. 

The other's eyes flew open, catching Dib's wrist in an iron tight grip, causing him to yelp in shock more so than pain. Dib barely noted Ghost as he said "Oi!" for the third time. Dib's other hand subconsciously flew to his chest out of reflex, his earlier statement of looking into the face of a madman becoming painfully true. 

Wild fury danced in Zib's eyes, his lips pulled back to his gums in a snarl, and exposing all of his sharpened teeth. Four biomechanical legs erupted from Zib's PAK, four spindly tips poised directly at Dib, gleaming dangerously in the dim light of the room. 

Dib's heart started to pick up the pace, and he could hear it thundering in his ears. 

One wrong move, and Dib was as good as dead.


	2. GHOST IN THE MACHINE - PART 2

_One wrong move, and he could kill me,_ Dib thought, swallowing hard. 

" _It's not the PAK,_ " Zib growled, eyes flashing with anger. 

"I didn't say anything about the PAK," Dib said, hating how cowardly he sounded. "I just asked if you were alright!" 

All at once, the fury seemed to flood out of Zib's systems, a look of stupid surprise crossing his features as his biomechanical legs drooped. "I... oh," he said. His grip loosened, and Dib was able to yank his arm out of Zib's grasp. 

"What was that all about?!" Ghost demanded. "You tried to kill the lad! I think!" 

"I... it's just stress," Zib said weakly as the four metallic legs snapped away, disappearing into the depths of the PAK once more. "I didn't take any breaks today, y'know? It's just a headache." His eyelids drooped, and he put a hand to his forehead. "And lack of sleep." Dib pursed his lips with a nod. 

Insomnia was no stranger to Dib Membrane. But the headache... that was worrying. From the looks of things, it was a pretty bad one. A part of Dib's mind was already forming the theory that Zib's PAK probably did have something to do with it, even if Zib didn't think so. It probably wasn't a good idea to mention it, though, after Zib's angry outburst. 

"I just... I think I need to lie down for a bit," Zib said, sitting down on the bed, seeming to sag into the mattress. "Okay? I'll be fine. I'm fine." 

Dib bit his lip, almost reluctant to leave Zib alone, but he didn't want to push his luck. "Y'sure?" 

The other offered a weak, empty smile. "I'm sure." 

Dib smoothed his cowlick down against his head, feeling it flick back up. "...alright." 

Zib swung his legs up onto the bed, taking the edge of his blanket and rolling himself up in it so half of his face was peeking out. Zib kept his eyes trained on Dib, until they eventually slid shut and he was out like a light. 

Dib wished he could fall asleep that quickly. He also wished his brain would let him sleep at normal hours. 

He let himself out, Ghost apparently choosing to follow him. "Are you two clones or twins?" the little robot dog asked. "Your voices are very similiar, you know." 

"Er... something lke that." Dib glanced at his alternate's sleeping form before he closed the door, turning and beginning to walk down the hallway. 

"I might have been alive for a few minutes, but I can already tell there's some history between you two," Ghost said, following at Dib's heels. "You don't trust him, do you? Is that it? He did something and now you can never trust him again? What did he do, huh? Shove ice down the back of your shirt?" 

Dib bit his lip. "He... destroyed his own reality," he told Ghost. "He was planning on using some kind of virus and taking over countless versions of the Irken Empire, and even managed to do it in this universe. My universe... my timeline. It failed, but... he lied to me. He said all these great things had happened to him when he defeated his version of my nemesis, but it wasn't true. He said no one cared, but... what does _he_ know? Just because it happened to him, doesn't mean it could happen to me. As long as I don't mess with Zim's PAK, I'll be fine. Erm... you do know what I'm talking about, right?" 

"Lad, do you think I was born yesterday?" Ghost demanded. "I'm programmed to know this stuff. What Zib knows? Apparently, more than you do!" 

Dib stopped in his tracks, looking down at Ghost and clenching his fists. " _What? _"__

__"Yeah, I said it," Ghost said tauntingly. "I recognize your type. You're one of those narrow-minded folks, aren't 'cha? Obviously, whatever happened to Zib, you haven't learned from it."_ _

__"He fused with his Zim's PAK!" Dib raised his voice, holding his arms out. "He took over his world! He destroyed his reality! And he might have done it again to countless others! I don't do that."_ _

__"You maaaay have a point," Ghost said. "But still! If you haven't learned from his tragic tale of woe, who says the same thing _won't_ happen to you?" _ _

__It felt like everything within Dib stopped all at once. Was Ghost right? No, no... Ghost _couldn't_ be right. And what did Ghost know anyway? The dog was a robot that was barely an hour old... programming or not, Ghost didn't know anything about Dib. _ _

__He was _Dib fricken Membrane_! There was no way he'd stoop that low. _ _

__"I can tell what you're thinking," Ghost said, narrowing his eye. "Denial is not just a river in Eygpt, lad. You think that if you admit I'm right, you'd be admitting you're wrong."_ _

__"You don't know me, Ghost," Dib said._ _

__"That's what you think! I've been analyzing you ever since I saw you," Ghost said. "I already know more about what you're like than you do, lad. And you don't like hearing what I'm telling you! I can already tell what you're going to do. You're going to ignore it! It doesn't fit with what you believe. It doesn't fit with what you _think_!" _ _

__Dib began to walk again, as fast as he could away from Ghost._ _

__"You're too dense to think the possiblity of it is true!" the dog called after him. "Well, guess what? There's always a possiblity it's true, Dib! You of all people should know that!"_ _

__He tried to block out what Ghost said next, but he was too late._ _

__"It's not the PAK, lad! It's _you!_ "_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p> **SCOTTISH DOG IS SASSY DOG**
> 
> I'm pretty proud of this one. I finally get to write in what "syncing" looks like, calmly put in a bug burrito, and add a robotic dog with an additude. 
> 
> Speaking of the robotic dog, I hope no one really minds or gets sick of Ghost, because he was sure as hell fun to write. As long as Ghost never says "allons-y", we should be fine. No promises, as I have been known to throw Doctor Who references around like Halloween candy. And with the voice I chose for him... well, it might be a different role entirely, but the same guy. 
> 
> On another note, reread Issue 49. I don't know why, but the "Meanwhile, I'll use my drones to monitor his every move from my master control room at the top of the tower!" line made me laugh. Until I realized I've been calling his tower a castle this whole time, even after reading that the first time. Like... how in God's name did I miss that? 
> 
> Wait... I just realized why I found it so funny. It's just **MASTER CONTROL ROOM. MASTER CONTROL ROOM AT THE TOP OF THE TOWER! MY MASTER CONTROL ROOM WHERE I KEEP MY OTHER THRONE! YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHAT I DO THERE, BUT IT SURE AS HECK PUTS THE "MASTER" IN "MASTER CONTROL ROOM"** okay i'm getting carried away. .


End file.
